I’m already seeing some of the backstory of this Sentebale twisted to suit a certain narrative, so let’s start close to the beginning of this fiasco. Sophie Chandauka was appointed the chairwoman of Sentebale in July 2023. Over the course of the next year and a half, she lost a major sponsor, alienated many members of the Board of Trustees, and used Sentebale’s reserves to spend generously on sketchy “consultants.” The board of trustees asked for her resignation last year, but she ran to the Charity Commission in England to lodge a complaint, claiming that Prince Harry was racist and he was bullying her. Harry resigned as royal patron, alongside Prince Seeiso, who cofounded Sentebale with Harry. They released a joint statement about it. Chandauka reacted poorly to the joint statement, giving a series of deranged interviews where she made bizarrely hostile accusations over nothing, like “Meghan watched her husband play polo” and “Meghan spoke to her friend Serena Williams at a charity polo game.”
The Charity Commission investigated slowly, then found that Harry had not bullied Chandauka or anything like that. The commission stopped short of placing blame on either party. During the commission’s investigation, almost all of the trustees left Sentebale and Chandauka replaced some of them, and she brought Iain Rawlinson – a close ally of Prince William – further into Sentebale’s leadership. Rawlinson and Chandauka have overseen a near-complete collapse of funding, they’ve closed down Sentebale’s offices and they don’t even seem to be operating Sentebale’s Lesotho-based center for children anymore. And now Sentebale is suing Prince Harry and former Sentebale trustee Mark Dyer for defamation, slander and libel. Chandauka apparently filed the lawsuit in March, but the news dropped on Friday, just days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex head to Australia. Later in the day on Friday, Mark Dyer and Prince Harry released a statement:
Prince Harry is being sued for libel by Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in 2006 and stepped down from last year. Court records revealed the case was filed in the London High Court against the Duke of Sussex and Mark Dyer, a former trustee of the charity, on March 24, according to the BBC and Reuters. The charge is listed as “defamation – libel and slander.”
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex and Mark Dyer tells PEOPLE, “As Sentebale’s co-founder and a founding trustee, they categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims. It is extraordinary that charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action against the very people who built and supported the organization for nearly two decades, rather than being directed to the communities the charity was created to serve.”
I’m fine with Harry and Dyer’s statement – it’s simple and it leaves room to make many more statements down the line. The mention of “charitable funds are now being used to pursue legal action” got under you-know-who’s skin though, because “Sentebale” quickly released yet another statement, and this one was even more curious.
Sentebale has commenced legal proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales. The charity seeks the court’s intervention, protection, and restitution following a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners.
The proceedings have been brought against Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, identified through evidence as the architects of that adverse media campaign, which has had significant viral impact and triggered an onslaught of cyber-bullying directed at the charity and its leadership.
Sentebale has experienced the adverse media campaign as false narratives circulated through the media about the charity and its leadership, attempts to undermine its relationships with staff, existing and prospective partners, and the forced diversion of leadership time and resources into managing a reputational crisis not of the charity’s making.
…At a time when international aid is contracting and the needs of children across Southern Africa are growing, the work Sentebale delivers for 78,000 young lives is increasingly critical. The charity should not continue to use its resources to manage and address the damage this adverse media campaign has caused to its operations and partnerships. This must stop. The Board and Executive Director have taken this legal action to secure that protection. The costs of doing so are met entirely by external funding and no charitable funds have been used.
The Board and Executive Director trust that those who believe in Sentebale’s mission will understand why this legal action, whilst difficult, was necessary and important, and will continue to stand with us as we focus on the work ahead.
Sentebale’s focus remains where it has always been: the children and young people of Lesotho and Botswana.
Sentebale does not intend to comment further on this matter while legal proceedings are ongoing.
“The costs of doing so are met entirely by external funding and no charitable funds have been used.” So Sentebale is facing an enormous funding crisis and donor crisis, yet they have “external funding” available to sue Prince Harry and Mark Dyer? Where does this external funding come from? Why won’t anyone in the press ask that? “The charity should not continue to use its resources to manage and address the damage this adverse media campaign has caused to its operations and partnerships…” What in God’s green earth is this ghastly woman talking about? The crisis within Sentebale is entirely of Chandauka’s own making. No one forced her to spend lavishly on “consultants” who never delivered. No one forced her to peddle her lies to the Charity Commission just so she could avoid being ousted as chairwoman for her gross incompetence. No one forced her to go on a publicity tour smearing Sentebale’s co-founder, not to mention the co-founder’s wife. No one forced her to commit a hostile takeover of a small, worthy charity. This whole thing is completely f–king deranged and infuriating.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, screencaps courtesy of Sky News.
-
- The Duchess of Sussex presents the trophy to her husband, the Duke of Sussex after his team the Royal Salute Sentebale Team defeated the Grand Champions Team, in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Duchess of Sussex presents the trophy to her husband, the Duke of Sussex after his team the Royal Salute Sentebale Team defeated the Grand Champions Team, in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Duchess of Sussex the Duke of Sussex poses for pictures with the teams after he took part in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Duchess of Sussex presents the trophy to her husband, the Duke of Sussex after his team the Royal Salute Sentebale Team defeated the Grand Champions Team, in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Duke of Sussex during the awards ceremony after he played in a polo match during the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Duke of Sussex during the awards ceremony after he played in a polo match during the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Duke of Sussex during the awards ceremony after he played in a polo match during the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Yes these “privately funded sources” should be tracked down to find out exactly who is suing Harry!!! I have my suspicions!!
Yes, follow the money. This is what I always wanted to know about constantly broke Samantha’s frivolous lawsuits. And this is what I now want to know about a charity unable to pay staff and keep community centres open!
I think it’s a consortium. I also think there’s a reason certain duchy properties are being liquidated. The personal nature of adding Mark Dyer to the lawsuit gave the game away.
Enough with the soft gloves….it is time Harry destroys a few people starting with this horrific woman who destroys Sentebale. Even if H & Prince Prince Seeiso regained control of their charity, they will need to rebrand or completely rename it!
She said H is a liability for fund raising, yet without him, she couldn’t raise a dime! People complaint about the US press but I will take it over anything coming out of the UK press….it is full on garbage over there!
💯. Invictus is next, if Harry doesn’t shut this shady sh!t down now, including by exposing these mystery donors and William’s role in targeting Dyer in particular.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Notice she says it’s a “media” campaign—what media campaign? Harry had every right to notify the public that he was no longer associated with the charity. Why are Harry’s (and Seesio’s) names and photos still on the Sentebale website? Was she planning on exploiting Harry’s association with this organization for donations even after he left?
Also, if her issue is with social media commentary, that’s different than a “media” campaign. In no way does Harry control the free speech of commentators.
This lawsuit is completely ridiculous.
Right? I read Dyer has been battling stomach cancer for several years, but he’s supposedly conducting a weapons-grade media campaign from his sofa?
Plus plenty of trustees have said far worse things about Sophie.
No, the inclusion of Dyer points the finger firmly at Willy. Charles hired Dyer to help manage Willy and Harry after Diana died, but Dyer is firmly in Harry’s camp and Bulliam the Persecutor can’t have that.
This. I’m confused. Is she accusing Harry of saying something specifically or she accusing him of masterminding some sort of media campaign à la Justin Baldoni. Bc, the Sussexes have always had SM support but it’s organic. This is really weird.
Maybe it’s because she lost the “Harry bullied me personally, and was racist to me personally” ploy last year, when the UK charities commission threw that complaint out.
So if you’re putting together another nuisance lawsuit, what are you gonna do?Now it’s in Sentebale’s name, and Harry and Dyer are masterminding a whole organized social media campaign.
I was wondering about this as well.
“The proceedings have been brought against Prince Harry and Mark Dyer, identified through evidence as the architects of that adverse media campaign,…..”
Are they trying to establish a narrative with this lawsuit that Harry controls social media and other media responses? This is bonkers and goes into conspiracy theory territory. I would love to see the evidence for that. However the DM is at the moment targeting Australian members of the Sussex squad prior to Harry’s and Meghan’s Australian trip.
I once worked with a woman like Chandauka; the most toxic, incredibly evil and unnatural person I have experienced. There is no depth to which this sort of human will not sink. They lie, obfuscate, are so cunning in weaving their untruths.
It’s not even run of the mill narcissism; this is something else: a deep, malignant, throbbing evil that never stops.
I can imagine that people in her life are terrified of Chandauka. If her parents aren’t narcissists, then they’re probably terrified of their child and I’d love to know of her relationships with other female members in her family, especially sisters if she has any.
This woman is malignant Evil with a capital E and I am very sorry for all the other victims who’ve experienced her diabolical twisted mind.
She reminds me of that evil thing in the movie Jeepers Creepers. Some vibe.
Even before this woman was outed for the awful way she took over this charity I knew she was evil. I just had a feeling. She always gave me bad vibes and it’s sad how right I was. I hope karma comes for her quickly.
I have a feeling they weren’t supposed to say that, but that’s what happens when you deal with hot heads who are more concerned with punishment than truth.
I’m still not seeing how any of these statements are defamatory. The entire gist of her complaint was that the way the organization was earning donations was too tied up into the ” Harry and Meghan” show, and she knew how to raise funds without relying on him. So they said show us, don’t tell us. Now it’s we can’t raise money because Harry is clearly not associated with us anymore?
I think there’s multiple angles here. Sophie is trying to buy time to prevent any forensic accounting of the charities books. The British media would love to have a new negative story to harp on, and there’s a real frustration about the Sussexes online support base.
She’s drowning trying to explain how she lost so much money in 2 years, and this can give her a lifeline. The last time a monarch went to Australia they were clearly told that they were not being welcomed by all people there, and the media definitely needs to change that narrative. And they don’t understand how 6 years after they left the Sussexes can still inspire such fervent support. So they want to silence/minimize the supporters with the most online reach by making it seem like some bot organization and not organic support.
For me, the only logical explanation is that she’s a hired hit woman. Nobody is this incompetent. Every move she has made has been guaranteed to hurt the charity and, by extension, Harry.
Speaking of bots, is it not Willy and Kate who are suspected to have used those to boost their insta engagement numbers and also wage a hate war against Harry and Meghan?
@Kittenmom, yes, that was apparently confirmed and published in the NYT. Why, btw, did W&K not get any backlash over that??
I remember when Harry and Meghan had their official RF instagram and every time their follower count exceeded Bill and Cathy’s, the KP account would miraculously add just enough followers to pull ahead. And ever since that H&M insta went quiet, the KP account followers stopped growing. Such a sad little amateur hour over there.
Here’s the NY Times full forensic investigation, which confirms the Waleses absolutely use bots: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/style/meghan-markle-instagram.html
Also it’s very obvious there are bots on the Fail. You can tell on articles about the Sussexes via the infamous 10::1 upvote::downvote ratio, the fact that it’s the first five anti-Sussex comments (bots) that get thousands of upvotes (also bots) but other comments rarely break a few hundred comments, and the sheer vapidness of the anti-Sussex comments.
So yeah, how about an investigation into social media being weaponized against the Sussexes by the Waleses and by the Fail (probably with palace OK)?
To me, this just screams “quick, look over here!” I can’t imagine there’s any real merit to these claims, and it’s either a ploy for attention or a desperate distraction.
I get the impression that apart from being a Hail Mary with respect to sullying the Sussexes’ Australian trip, Chandauka may have got an indication that Prince Harry and Mark Dyer and other trustees had been looking into suing to remove her from the charity after getting their ducks in a row (e.g. after scrutinising that shady financial document from last year) and decided to pre-emptively launch her own action? I mean, that’s what she did when the board wanted to remove her – sue to remain in position. Seems that she would likely play the same card again.
Hmm…I’m not sure. It seemed to me that Harry had hoped that the Charity Commission would have ruled that the Chair had to step down. When they didn’t he just closed that chapter of his left. I suspect that whatever he does in that space in the future would be through Archewell Philanthropies.
If they can raise money for a law suit, then why can’t they raise money for the charity?
@Eurydice, you’re looking for logic in a group of unhinged, vindictive maniacs. All we know for sure right now is that it’s driven by vengeance.
Well, it’s more of a rhetorical question aimed at those reporting the story. As for “group” – “The Board and Executive Director…” is absurdly grand. The board is just Chandauka, Rawlinson and one other. The UK staff is one person and there are 6 others in Lesotho and Botswana. Ten people in total, at the most 4 who are actually involved in this suit. If Harry’s name wasn’t attached, nobody would pay any attention
I don’t think I’ve ever been so incredibly furious on another person’s behalf. If our suspicions are true and William is behind all this, he’s a fucking sociopath. To be so obsessed with punishing his brother that he would destroy something that was founded IN MEMORY OF THEIR MOTHER with the goal of helping VULNERABLE CHILDREN?! And this vile woman he found to carry water for him is jealous and delusional, and the way she obsesses over Meghan for just, you know, existing as Harry’s wife? Makes me wonder if she could be legit dangerous.
What makes me angriest is that this really feels like William testing the waters before he comes for Invictus.
William is going to be King with all the money and houses, etc. Right now, he’s the Prince of Wales with all the money and houses. He could be doing so much good with his privilege, but instead, he’s waging war against his brother. For what? Falling deeply in love with his soulmate and leaving a toxic environment? If he weren’t so lazy and unmotivated, he could at least command the respect that Princess Anne does. He’s despicable.
That’s the thing. Even with all of this stuff going on and it’s clear targeted media campaign trying to figure out ways to ruin this trip, William and Kate still went on a 3 week long vacation. After only barely doing events the two weeks before that.
If they were really concerned about providing a contrast, they may not have been able to create their own international trip in a month’s time but they could have done plenty in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They could have still taken their kids on vacation and popped up once a week somewhere new. It’s not like they don’t take helicopters for everything else. They just don’t want to. And that’s the crux of the problem.
Ruining Harry and Meghan won’t make them not lazy. They still won’t be doing anything. And it’s like they think well if Harry and Meghan aren’t out here doing stuff people won’t notice that we also aren’t doing anything. That’s not going to be sufficient.
@Miranda, SAME, and it is infuriating because it’s so freaking unfair. Does William have serious blackmail material on *every* tabloid journalist in Britain? Why are they always so willing to do this gross (and transparent) bidding on his behalf? They didn’t treat Charles with kid gloves like this.
@miranda
If our suspicions are true and William is behind all this, he’s a fucking sociopath.”
Of course these suspicions are correct, of course Egg xa is behind it, of course he’s a fucking sociopath.
But it’s not even his fight with Harry that’s the worst, but the fact that out of envy and for his own delusions, he thoughtlessly took the lives of almost 400 children with HIV, depriving them of treatment, and it’s only a matter of time before HIV turns into AIDS. He doesn’t care about them; he cares about them as much as the tenants in his moldy houses—less than zero.
Sophie Chanduaka is deluded. Sentebale would have in good standing if she had resigned as the Board asked her to. Harry and Mark make a good point that Sentebale is using funds that could be going to the children instead of this lawsuit. It wouldn’t surprise me if the money for this lawsuit is coming from the British press.
@Amy Bee, I’d be surprised if that *isn’t* exactly where the funding is coming from
She’s being paid to be “deluded.” Talk about an Establishment stitch-up!
This is SO a double targeted attack against Harry. Not just the African charity but the deliberate accusation of ‘cyber-bullying’, a campaign Harry is deeply involved in.
I don’t believe Sophie Chandauka and Iain Rawlinson expected Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso to resign as Founders and Patrons last year. Their action prevented Chandauka and Rawlinson from destroying Sentebale and hanging it around Harry’s neck, which would have permanently ruined his reputation. William could have also used it to lobby for the Invictus Games.
And why Mark Dyer? Oh, I believe he’s an added bonus. Dyer mentored both Princes after their mother passed. This man helped Harry form and sustain a successful African charity. And it’s been pointed out in annoying detail this past week how William ‘cuts off’ anyone who chooses and backs the wrong side.
I just don’t understand the cyber bullying accusations. They make no sense. But yeah if you consider that SM has been one of Harry’s big causes then yea this is meant to sully his name in association with that topic.
“Follow the money and see where it goes!”
So if they are getting ‘external’ funding why aren’t they using it for the children, who would ringfence the money to sue Harry rather than spending it on the children. It doesn’t say much for their character revenge rather than care.
All of us called this immediately last week, as soon as the lawsuit was announced!
Hopefully we’ll eventually find out how this BS came together.
If I recall correctly, it was Chandaouka who went on the media blitz, talking to anyone willing to give her a platform to spout her lies, and sling mud at Harry. Everyone but the British media saw what went down. Personally I think this will be a slam dunk for Harry’s lawyers.
How do you accuse the person who founded the organization in honor of his beloved mother, maintained it for almost 20yrs with no issues until you instigated a very hostile take over, and proceed to alienate all the supporters and funders. And yeah, the charity didn’t need the Patrons, and Harry was toxic to the organization, blah blah blah….
I really hope Harry’ lawyers tears her to shreds.
So is Sophie suing to avoid scrutiny of Sentebale’s books? And what media campaign? Harry’s lawyers can pull the interviews where Sophie slagged him and Meghan off. Sophie is going to get thrown under the bus when this fizzles.
@Aquarius, “Sophie is going to get thrown under the bus when this fizzles.”
You’re right, and I can’t lie, I will greatly enjoy watching this well-deserved comeuppance for her. Eventually.
Willy found someone equally stupid, deranged and obsessed with the Sussexes to do his dirty work. Her case makes no sense and whoever is funding it needs exposed. No one without an agenda would want to be associated with this horrid woman. Discovery exposes both her and her benefactor to potential civil and/or criminal charges. Willy is short-sighted enough to do anything to stop the Sussexes from having a successful Australia trip, but she may somehow manage to be even more uncontrollable and craycray than Willy. She will burn him eventually.
Whoooooof. You remember when Camilla had that car accident on the way to Highgrove a few months before Diana’s accident but Camilla emerged unscathed? And people prepared to speak out (without proof, only deeply held suspicions) opined that, had Camilla not emerged unscathed, Diana would likely not have been in Paris at all, and certainly not in a car accident? ….I’m getting the odd tingly feeling that Charles’ & Kate’s respective cancers were the notional equivalent of Camilla’s crash. You can sense even the rota is longing to be put out of its misery. It’s like Billy has morphed into a blend of Shakespeare villain & Southpark.
I pretty sure the only media campaign investigators would find is the one William has been conducting